yui's ooo

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Today, Internet technology is developing more and more and people depend on it greatly because they can do anything online such as communicate, search and find entertainment. On the Internet, they can finally manage or exchange money, called online banking. It’s a fresh system because money is very important and it should be paid or interchanged directly. Managing money online seems to be risky, but many people prefer to use it because online banking has some advantages. People can transfer money easily anytime. Also, thanks to the system, they can enjoy online shopping.

People can use online banking with fun, convenience and safety. Even if there are some risks, they don’t have to be afraid at all. Online banking has a lot of advantages for people.

First, one of reasons people prefer to use online banking is that it is very convenient. If there were not online banking, they whould have to go out to get something. They don’t feel like going outside because of weather or laziness. In “Is using a credit-card for online purchases safe?” (Ball, 2008), the author states online banking is an easy way for people to find what they are looking for and they don’t have to leave their house. This feature of online banking is also very helpful for people who don’t have time to go out to get something.

Second, people can do good shopping, because they can easily see around various online shops. In “Stay safe while shopping online” (Robertson, 2006), the author states online shop is like a huge marketplace so people can get whatever they want. Also, people can compare a price with another one in different sites. So they can get what they want at the cheapest price. It is a very important thing for shoppers.

Finally, people don’t have to be afraid of risks. Indeed, there are some risks to paying money online. The most important reason people feel that online banking is risky is that their credit-card number can be stolen. However, they can enjoy shopping online without the fear. “If someone has taken your card number and is using it, you will know within a day or two, and you can minimize the damage” (Epinions.com, 2008, para. 23). People never suffer heavy losses in online shopping.

In conclusion, people can get whatever they want by using online banking. It provides various benefits with people. If it seems to be risky, people enjoy online shopping without fears because they can minimize damages. So they never have big loss because of online banking. Online banking help people do shopping and it makes people’s shopping easier.

In “Whooping crane makes dramatic come back,” Zaleski (2007) states that whooping crane is known as not only the tallest migratory bird in Northwest America but also one of the most endangered. In the late 1800s, there were about 1,500 birds in Western Canada and the U.S. The cranes numbered just over 20 in 1940. The main reason of their death is crashing with power lines during migration. In addition, the conversion of wetlands and grasslands to agriculture and the draining of wetlands are also important causes of extinction. Moreover, they can’t breed widely originally and also their nests are destroyed by human activities. By having these problems happen all at the same time, their lives are threatened more and more. Now, they can’t increase their population by themselves so they need our help. Also we have to take responsibility for this problem because human has surely destroyed their lives.

In “The end of the road; There is something truly magical about animal migration, Anne McIlroy reports, But human activity threatens to grind it to a halt”, McIlroy (2008) writes that Dr. Wilcove argues endangered animals deserve special attention and people should push to preserve forest from development. Since 1938, organizations such as International Crane Foundation, the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, and the Calgary Zoo discovered various solutions to help them. Therefore this resulted in a slow increase, but it’s not enough to get whooping crane off the endangered list yet. Also it’s unsure if the population is recovered or not. The reason the methods which we tried already can’t make it increase definitely is that we have never reconsidered what we do to their lives. Unless we admit our faults and try to improve, their complete recovery will be difficult. Then in making their recovery real, as Dr. Wilcove states, we should remove threats from their lives and keep them away from extinction.

First, we should stop invasion of their habitats. In “Habit Restoration,” the author states “One of the biggest threats to whooping cranes is the destruction of habitat. The cranes have a very sensitive ecosystem, and the smallest change can become deadly” (Whooping Crane Home Page, n.d, para.1). Over many years, we have destroyed whooping cranes’ habitats by deforestation or exploitation of wetlands and grasslands where they breed. In “The Cranes” the authors state, “Because few crane species depend heavily upon forested habitats, deforestation does not usually pose a serious direct threat to cranes, however, because deforestation has long-term and far-reaching impacts upon watershed hydrology, and hence on wetlands, deforestation can be considered a significant indirect threat” (Meine and Archibald, 1996, para. 9). Also, their stopovers are decreasing so they can’t rest during migration and get to the destination. The loss of habitats means they can’t get foods. In addition, on their routes for migration, power lines threaten whooping cranes. It’s the most serious threat for whooping cranes which migrate to different habitats. In “Wild Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane” (Redorbit News, 2008), the author claims that the number of whooping cranes which die because of crashing into wind turbines is increasing. They did not use to die because of it. Now, crashing into power line and wind turbines is a common cause of death. These factors are enough to make them extinction. They are losing places to breed, live, migrate, and rest during migration because of our invasion even now. Organizations are trying to create new habitats for them, but habitat destruction is faster than habitat creation. So the only one way to save their habitats is stop excessive invasion and keep them safe.

Second, we should solve the problem of water pollution. In “Whooping crane” (International Crane Foundation, n.d.), the author states that polluted water from oil and chemicals affects their habitat and food supply. Also, much of the freight consists of petrochemical products that are conveyed near their habitats. Contaminants have been detected in the waters of the refugees, and small-scale spills have occurred in the past. In “The cranes, Threats: Habitat Loss and Degradation” the author states “For example, barges loaded with benzene, xylene, and other toxic substances traverse the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on a daily basis; even one spill in this area could have a devastating impact on the Whooping Cranes and their habitat” (Meine and Archibald, 1996, para.13). Of course, fresh water is essential for them because they need to stay in water at night to feel safe from predators during migration. From polluted water, they will die or get diseases. Changes of their water quality influence their lives greatly. In addition, they can’t recover from pollution by themselves and it’s also difficult for us to remove the pollution. However, water pollution has been caused by human activities, not birds and nature. They can’t struggle against water pollution and they are just dying out. As soon as possible, we have to supply them with fresh water.

Finally, we should breed them and teach them how to live in wildlife. In “Removing egg from nest may help save endangered whooping crane” (Inventions report, 2005) the author states that they usually have only one chick because they have a habit that one chick eats another chick. So the rate of breeding is not high originally. In addition, there are a lot of predators. Some whooping cranes are killed regardless of whether they are adults or chicks. They have the risk of being killed by predators anytime. Next, the number of whooping cranes has to increase quickly. One reason is that they are still listed as an endangered bird. Another reason is that decrease is faster than increase. Now, the number of whooping crane is increasing but the speed is not enough. Moreover, in “After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone,” Moreno (2006) says that some organizations succeeded in breeding whooping crane. They are usually taught how to migrate by parents so whooping crane which are bred by humans need to be taught it by humans. In fact, organizations lead them to their destination by gliders.

On the other hand, some people feel that it’s impossible to save and improve crane’s life. Over many years, we have tried to look for solutions and solve the problem. However, the problem of animal’s extinction isn’t improved and continues to get worse and worse. Even if the problem is solved, it recurs soon because humans never stop developing their lives. New technologies are regarded as one of effective solutions, but they can cause other problems and the situation becomes more complicated. Indeed, it’s difficult not to affect the animal’s life at all because we need to exploit the natural world. However, if we continue to destroy it or invade it too much without thinking about animal’s life, endangered animals happen as well as whooping crane. It can get worse unlimitedly. Someday humans can be influenced by destruction of ecosystem. We have only way that we should restrain our development to save animal’s life. We have to leave some wild areas and keep them safe, instead of destroying them. As a result, they will cause other problems and the situation will become more complicated. We have to know that it’s impossible that we develop our lives and keep animals’ lives safe at the same time. If we don’t give up some development in our lives, we will never save animals’ lives.

In conclusion, we need to reconsider endangered birds’ lives. They are threatened by our activities and they can’t do anything about it. If humans have not disturbed their lives, they would not have to be threatened. Now they require our help and we have to save and keep them away from extinction forever. Indeed it’s hard and costly to solve and continue to take care of them, but it’s our responsibility. We can say that some opinions of our opponents are not wrong, because we can solve the problem of animal’s extinction more efficiently by stopping our harmful activities for animals. We can either plunge them into extinction or keep them safe, as whooping crane almost died out and they are increasing again slowly. It’s not a big result, but if we continue efforts, we can see humans and animals coexisting someday.

McIlroy, A. (2008, March 29). The end of the road; There is something truly magical about animal migration, Anne McIlroy reports, But human activity threatens to grind it to a halt. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from LexisNexis.

Monday, December 1, 2008

In my life, music is very important for me. My hobby is listening to music so I listen to music almost everyday. Also, I like to check the newest songs and I listen to them so many times if I like them. So there are various songs which I often listened to every season. When I listen to each song, I can remember what happen when l frequently listened to. I want to talk about these songs and memories today. First, "All I want for Christmas is you" by Mariah Carey reminds me of memories of winter. Every time winter comes, I can listen to this song everywhere. I have various memories in winter. When I listen to the song, I always remember the memories and I feel romantic and sentiment. Also the song makes me notice winter comes and Christmas is coming. Second, all songs of Radwimps, Japanese singer reminds me of memories with my boyfriend. Radwimps is not really famous. I also didn’t know it before I met him, but he likes it and he told me them. Then I liked all songs soon. We listened to them whenever we were together. So I can remember memories with him vividly still now if I listen to them. Finally, “I will follow him” is also favorite song because the song relates to memories of high school greatly. In my high school, we have chorus competition every year. When I was in the third grade, my class sang the song. It was so hard to practice every day during summer vacation but we enjoyed singing the song because we like it. Thanks to hard practice, we finally won! The song is the most memorable thing all of memories of high school. Thus, music is a part of my memories. It helps me remember important memories so sometimes I listen to memorable songs and I remember various things. From now, memorable songs will increase more and they are essential for my memories forever.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

I know a place where you should go at least once in your life. It’s my hometown, Osaka. Osaka is the second capital of Japan and it’s not huge but there are a lot of things you can enjoy. First, you can eat popular and famous foods there. Especially, I want to recommend Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki to you, because I have never heard there are people who don’t like them. They are very famous and of course people who are from Osaka like them. So you can find stores or restaurants which offer them wherever you go in Osaka. Second, there are traditional structures in Osaka. The most famous traditional structure is Osaka castle. In spring, many people visit there because there are a lot of cherry trees around the castle. Also it is popular among foreign tourists and they favorably visit there. Finally, you can enjoy shopping a lot. Osaka has some of the best places for shopping, Numba, Umeda and Tennoji. There are various kinds of stores and young people often go there and enjoy shopping. If you go there, you can find everything you want. I have traveled a lot of places in Japan and I enjoyed them very much, but I can say that the best place for a trip in Japan is Osaka. If you go there, you can experience many things there and I’m sure you will like Osaka.

I like vacation because I have a lot of events. In Japan, we have three big vacations, spring, summer and winter, in a year. We can enjoy various things with each season. First of all, in spring vacation, people are likely to do Ohanami. In Japan, we can see a lot of cherry trees everywhere. The original purpose is enjoying seeing cherry trees, but we can also enjoy talking, eating food, drinking alcohol and singing songs under cherry trees in parks. Next, in summer vacation, we have a lot of kinds of Matsuri, Japanese festival. We usually have them at night. There are many booths and we can buy foods and play games there. Some Matsuri includes fireworks. Most people enjoy them while wearing Yukata and Jinbe, which are Japanese traditional clothes. Finally, winter vacation is not long but it includes an important event. It’s seeing the old year out and the New Year in. We have a custom to go to shrines on New Year’s Day. So many people gather there to make a wish for the new year and, draw fortune slips every year. New Year’s Day is only once in a year so people regard it as an important event and they enjoy it. Thus, there are many traditional events in each Japanese vacation. I wish all vacations were longer or I could enjoy them more.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I can say that if I don't have time to spend alone, I can' live. Of course, I like to spend time with friends, family or go to places where are crowded with many people. There are a lot of fun and it's essential time for me. But I need time to spend alone as well as time with someone. There are some reasons I think it's important for my life. First, being always with someone makes me tired. Even if I like the person the most, I need to take care of him/her whenever we are together. If the sisuation continues for a long time without alone time, I will feel uncomfortable finally. By spending time alone sometimes, I can also enjoy time with others. Second, I can enjoy some hobbies in alone time. My hobbies are going shopping and seeing movies. I can enjoy them with friends and I do sometimes. But actually, I like do them alone the most because in shopping case, I don't have to care about others' pase of shopping. In movie case, I can consentrare on story more. Finally, making time to spend time alone is good for health. When I'm alone, I can relax and release stress. If I don't make own time, I can't rest mentally and physically. By spending time alone, I can have chances to do what I want to do. It helps me release stress and I can feel better. As I can't be with someones for a long time, it's also impossible to be alone for a long time. Balance between them is difficult and important. I want to enjoy spending both of them equally.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Yesterday, a new American President was elected, Barack Obama. In the world, people had paid attention to the election, because America is a big country which has power and can control the world. So we can say that yesterday’s Presidential election not only affects America’s future but also the world’s one. Actually, I had not been interested in politics, but now I’m interested in the election and its background for some reasons. First, I had many chances to learn about American politics. For example, in class, the teacher talked about it and I sometimes discussed it with classmates because the election was approaching. Second, we could see news or TV shows about the election whenever I turned on the TV and Computer. In the news and TV show, people argued or made ironic statements for Obama or McCain. Finally, young people had a campaign to support Obama or McCain at school. In my country, Japan, most of the young people are not interested in politics so they rarely participate in campaign or vote, though they can. So I was surprised that young people were excited about the election. Also, I was surprised that young people made a lot of noise to celebrate the victory of Obama outside of my dormitory after the election was over. Thanks to the election, I could learn about American politics and I came to want to know about it more. Now Obama is the President of America, and I’m looking forward to how America and the world will change.